Control lock



V 4 Aug. 17,1926.

1,596,128 P. R. THOMPSON CONTROL Loox Filed July 9,- 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6 'r /7 v /7 f 8 NM@W1NW\W\N-\H* f gllhmmm1mMW im l:amsmumlmmmu www@ e@ if CONTROL LOCK Filed July 9. 1923 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 17, 1925.

1,596,128 'i ,Unir-en srAT-Es i 'PAUL n; rnoivirson, orV Larronrnfinniniwi; nssienonyao ADVANCE-nuisance y Y PANY, OF LA FORTE, 'INDlANAgA' conronnrioii oirfinniiiisui.-` f

eoivinoiJ Loox..

Application filed J1i1y'9,

siliently restrained or resisted, which will] cooperate to insure that thev controlled mechanismwill go into or pass through a neutral 1ionoperative condition whenever l.changing theV control 1from the forward tothe rear ward driving ofthe tractor, orA from the rearward to the forward driving' of the tractor, itbeing impossible4 to pass directly from one to the other operation withoutgoing into a neutral locked and stopped position or condition, and being released from the latter before being able to go intofthe changed drive control, the locland stop operating in botli directions of change; to provide the control with a lock element, such as pivoted pawl, having one or more projections or shoulders, preferably so arranged as to form one or `more channels for the. passage and play there-in of'a cooperable traveling element.connected to one of thev manually controlled .movable members, so that the shoulders and the traveling element will co- .act to nintually loclrlto bring the. movable member, such as the `rein drum, or the cams carried thereby,.to a stop when the same are being operated to change from either forward or :rearward driving control to ythe other control; to' so construct and arrange the parts that the movable element, which is preferably a cani or projectionjcarried by the rein drum, will have a pathoftravel and y that the cooperable element. on the locking member or pawl, suchy as the shoulders and channels, will be normally located inthe path of` movement of the traveling element to effect the locking, stoppingrand" releasing action of the control; and to .provide such further objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear andare inherently possessed by the invention.A

It will be understood that while for pui'- poses of convenience I have shown and specifically .described my invention as applied to a reversingtransmission or'control mechanism'for a tractor, that my invention is not limited to such mechanism for tractors or motor vehicles but lmaybe applied-y to any i923.' sentirne.. einen". n I

typeiof-reversing or even change speed transmissionv mechanism wherein automatic locking means are; provided to insiirethat theV transmission mechanism .will be,` locked 'in yneutralwhen niovingfromjany driving 'conf dition or relation to anyother driving-,condition or relation `inthe entiresysteinand wherein the .operator-must ,always work through the. locked. conditionr whenygoinfg from any onejopei'ating or ldriving condition to any other andmust malte aseparate control movement to go froinsuch looked condition toy any of the operating erfv moving con- .ditions..y i, y j Y In the. drawings illustrating atpreferred embodiment of the; inventionf y Fig l is al transverseV sectional view through a control mechanism orgtransinission fora tractor.. 4 Y I i l l Fig. 2 is a side View, partly broken. away,

of the control mechanism. l I

Fig. 3 is -a 'View in perspective of some details of. the lock mechanism; and lFigs. 4 to 12, linclusive,arevil-iws of the loci: -mechanism in different [positions of operation and control tliese figures omitting lthe remainder of the structurev sliownin Fig. '2 for convenience.

housing 1,. carrying alpair ofbearings 2 and 3, in Awhichis supported av cross-shaft L1,npon which are freely rotatablev a pair of rein drums or sheaves and 6;; Each rein drum .has a rein receiving channel 7, a brake oain 8, a clutch cam 9, lpreferably being inthe forni of a channel formed in the side o the drum, and a huby .portion 10... .To eachy drum is connected an end' of aicoil spring. lliby means of a boltl'fastened tofV a web portion of' the drum. yThe other-end ofthe spring is connected to a stationary part on the casing l. The reins. are `attached'to the .drum at.v one .end thereof and pass around in Fig. .2 of thedrawings. The spring 11 will act vto return thedrnins in a reverse rotation whenV therev is a let-up ony the reins. To the shaft 4,. intermediate the drumsl 'hence cause the pawls to normally stand in `part 24 of-the casing 1. extends upwardly to form a tail-piece 25 in.

lears 16 and 17. nend portion of the rod 27 is provided with and 6, is secured a spacer 14,'by means of a cross pin 15. This spacer member has preferably formed integrally with it, a pair of perforated ears 16 and 17, as clearly `shown Yposition with respect to an implement or lvehicle drawn'by it.V VThe members 10 and 18, respectively, have projections 19 and 2O which co-act in the cramping operation.

The transmission locking mechanism comprises a pair of latches or pawls 21 and 22, rotatable upon a pin -23 supported in a fixed Each latch or pawl which is provided a perforation for receiv ing a bent end 26 of a connecting rod 27 extending'upwardly through a perforation in one of the ears 16 or 17 as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. It will be understood that there are two of these connecting rods, one passing through each of the The upwardly projecting a coiled spring 28 re-acting between one of the ears 16 or 17 and an abutment member 29 held on the upper end of the rod 27 by 'an adjusting nut 30, which may be adjusted to vary the compression of the spring 28. It will be apparent that the action of these springs is to draw the rod 27 upwardly and vertical position as shown in Figs. 7 and 12 of the drawings. In order that the member 14 will not turn with the shaft 4, the latter Yis preferably fixed in the bearings 2 and 3.

The casing 1 is so located in proximity to the pin 23 that the end portions 25 of the pawls may hit against the bottom thereof 31 to prevent the-pawls from turning completely over, in the event of the same being actuated rapidly. :In thisway any eXtreme movement of the pawls will be limited.

The lowerportion ofeach pawl is generally fanshaped and is provided with arcuateflanges 32 and 33 and' projections or shoulders 34 and 35 and also with a substantiallyA triangular, intermediate portion 36 having a pair of spaced short projections 37 and 38 and an-elongated projection 39 eX- tending radially outwardly and in spaced relation to and between the shoulder portions 34 and 35. It will thus be seen that on each side of the long projection 39 is formed a vvsort of irregular or tortuous channel or path.

This path is. designed for the travel of a pin 40 carried in each rein drum and projecting laterally therefrom, so as to pass -into the channels mentioned above.

Inasmuch as the pins 40 are attached to motion, the pins 40 have a circular path of travel and the locking members are so located as normally to interfere with this path of travel in a manner hereinafter more fully described.

The central or inoperative position of the locking pawl will be that shown in Figs. 7 or 12 of the drawings. This, however, is merely a return position of the locking pawl itself until it is acted upon by the pin 40 when being moved, when changing controls from one driving relation to another as, for instance from a forward to a rearward or from a rearward to a forward operation of the power transmitting mechanism of the driving wheels of the tractor.

The reins ofthe tractor are operated very much the same Vas reins in driving a team of horses. A pull upon the reins will cause Va rotation of the rein drums in a counter clock-wise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and the cams 8 and 9 will operate against cam rollers 41 andv42, respectively, operatively connected to clutch and brake mechanism of the tractor'. A let-up on the reins will permit the springs 11 torotate the rein drums in the opposite direction. a like movement of the pins 4() as illustrated by the arrows in Figs. 7 and 12 of the drawings.

For convenience, it will be assumed that theV operator desires to bring the tractor to a stop after operating in forward driving position of `the mechanism. The operator will Vdraw up upon the reins 'and causethe cams andrein drums to rotate in a counter clock-wise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2vof the drawings, so as to bring the pins 40 from the'position shown thereof in Fig. 12 of the drawings to the position shown thereof in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The pin 40 will thus come in contact with an outer inclined Yface of the projection 38 or" the locking mem- -from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings when the pin will come into contact with the shoulder 35 of the locking member. A further pull on the reins will be ineffective to cause any further movement of the rein drums and the pin 40, the pins now being in stopped or locked position, further movement of the control being impossible in that Such rotation of the drums will cause (lll resales direction. 'A1 letsup' enV the A reins at i this point-will ypermit the pins Qtomove toward theileftas viewed in' Fig. 4 of they drawing,

into engagement with the pocket between the projections538- and 39, the spring 28 in themeanwhile acting to Vslightly* turn ,the 'locking memberin a clockwise direction to bring the lContact#39- towardfthe Lpins '40 "of its own; accord or change; Thev operator 'is now free to drop theV reinsand leave Vthe tractor without any' danger-oi the mechanism causing the tractor to runaway. The position'of the locking mechanism will be that showninFig. 5 Yot" the drawing, this showing'one of the locked positions of the control. 1

For the ope-ratorto go inte reverse drivf ingV operation, lit .is-necessary for him to draw' up fon the reins and with-drawthe pin 4G from the position shown'in Fig. 5to 'a position. shown in Fig. 6 yof the drawings. It will be noted inthis position the pin has left theloclred position andfis leaving that positionl and moving toward reverse position;- The mechanism will be in full reverse Vposition when the pin. has reached the position shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings and the spring 27'flias acted to return the pawl v'to-the upright or center position.

To go from reverse operation to 'a stop; or toward forward, the operator merely lets up upon the reins vsof-that the pin 40 travels vto the left as viewed in Fig. 8 of the drawings and` comes in Contact with the outer inclined suriac'eof the Vprojection V37, causing rota-k tion of the pawl from the upright position to a horizontal position asy shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings. A further let-up will per mit the pin to travel on until it passes from the projection 37 into cont-act with the shoulder 34C which prevents further move- 'ment of the pin 40. This is another of the positions when the mechanism is held stopped and inoperative. If the operator wishes to drop the reins and leave the tractor without danger of it running away, he pulls back slightly on the reins but not enough to reach forward position and again pulls back to position shown in Figures 2, l and 5, with the pin 40 resting against the shoulder 34C. He can there safely drop the reins and reach the machine because in this position with the pin 40 resting against the shoulder 34, it takes a very decided pull to release the lock and the machine can then be considered safely locked. It hedesires now to go into forward position, the operator pulls back upon the reins to cause the pin to move toward the right and engage with the pocket between the projections 37- and 39 Vas shown in Fig. l0 of ythe drawings.' This is a stop position and ali: lther pull bach on the reins will be inellective tojoperate any partiv of the controlling mechanism. The operator then letsupwupen the' reins 'andi' the pin travelslfaw'ay from the shoulder betweenr the projections 'and. 39' to theendetthe channel as shownfin Fig. ll'of" he dra-wings.V The pijn-isfy now' moving toward forwarddriving. position. Full forward' opeif ating position will `be 'obtained when the pin is in a position shownin lFi'gufl otzthe drawings whenthe locking pawl wi be in upright position; l f

It will be lapparent'that the radius ein' the path of travel of the pin 4:0' is lessthan the outward projection 'of the endy'otthe-fprojections 37 and 38 so that when the pins-O` fis 'inY a `position vshownfin 5, or that yshown in Fig. l0, of the. drawings,Y

will Vloch with either the projections 138 v"or 37, as the case will be, and tend; to jaminstead o'ftending-to turn the lockingpawl.v over and become released. i .n J'- 'Inasmuch as each drum yand rein. isl oper.-l ated independently, and each control mechanismhas a separate locking member, the controls may be yoperated tofeliect'steering. of the wheels. Inasmuch asthe constructions and the operations arev the same on both sides of the control mechanism, itl is deemed .unnecessary to-Erlescribe both sides, a description of oneside being .deemed sutficient. i v

` IVhile I haveherein Vdescribed land Vshown upon the drawings ,a l preferred `embodiment of they invention, it is to beunderstood that the. invention isnot limited to theparticular construction, details and arrangement of parts shown and described., butthat other constructions, details and arrangements of. parts are comprehended by the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I claim: l. In a tractor drive control mechanism, a manually controlled movable member, a movable lock element, cooperable projections carried by said member and said element for locking the control mechanism into neutral inoperative condition when changing from any control position.

i 2. In a tractor drive control mechanism, a manually controlled movable member, a pivotally mounted lock member having stop and lock projections, an element carried by the movable member and cooperable with the lock and stop projections for bringing the control mechanisms to a stopped and locked condition when changing from any controlled position.

3. In a tractor drive control mechanism, a manually controlled movable member, a pivotally mounted lock member having a tortuous channel, a traveling element movable with the movable member and capable thel 'pin reo of moving in said channel, stop shoulders in said channel adapted to be engagedV by the traveling element for effecting a stop and locking action oi the contr-ol mechanism when changing from any controlled position, and a connection between the traveling element and the movable member.

4L. In a tractor drive control mechanism, a lmanually controlled movable member, a resiliently resisted movable lock member having irregularly shaped channels provided with shoulders, a projection on the manually controlled movable memberv and cooperable with the channels and shoulders for bringing the manually controlled movable member to a stop condition when changing from one driving control to another.

5. In a tractor drive control mechanism, a manually controlled movable member, a resiliently restrained movable lock member having a plurality or' contact elements, a projection carried by the manually controlled movable memler`r the c elements of the lock member being disposed in the path yof movement oi the projection whereby the projection contacts with the Ashoulders successively upon alternate movements of the manually controlled movable member.

6. Controlling mechanism for tractor power transmission means comprising a rein drum, a lock pin carried thereby and having a circular path oit travel, a movable loci member in said path of travel or the pin, said lock member having `projections cooperable with the pin to bring the controlling mechanism to a stop when changing from any controlled position.

7. Controlling mechanism for tractor power transmission means comprising a rein operated cam member, a lock element carried by the cam member and having a path of travel, a resiliently restrained movable loclr member normally in the path of movement of the lock element and cooperable therewith for insuring bringing the control mechanism to a stop condition when changing from any controlled position.

8. ln a tractor-drive control. mechanism, movable means for leffecting forward, neutral and rearward driving actions, and relatively movable locking members cooperable to insure neutral action when changing from any controlled position, and a connection between the locking members and the control mechanism.

9. The combinationwitha movable member mounted for a wide range yof movement ot a loclr associated therewith comprising a swinging plate, means for yieldingly positioning such plate, a pin projecting from the moving member and adapted to engage the platev` the plate where it is engaged by the pin having a plurality of stop shoulders adapted to lie in the path of the pin, said shoulders opposed to each other to form a tortuouspath through which the-pin may pass, the relation of the opposed shoulders being such that the pin as it engages the plate comesinto engagementrwith one of said shoulders and is held against 'further movement in its initial direction until` a slight reversal permits the plate to displace when the pin can be pulled through.

Signed at La Porte county of La Porte and State yof Ind., this third day of July 1923.

PAUL. R; THOMPSON.v 

